Dear President Biden,
As 2023 comes to a close and COP28 gets ready to begin, the world faces unprecedented climate disasters. These are not only headline-grabbing sudden onset events, like Hurricane Otis which went from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane in a single day, but the ongoing catastrophes of drought, flooding and heat that are causing hunger and harming people and communities every day all over the world. We urge your administration at COP28 to recognize the United States’ historical responsibility and commit to contributing its fair share of the global effort to counter climate change.
You frequently express a commitment to being a climate champion, but the actions of your administration have not matched the lofty rhetoric. For example, approving fossil fuel expansion like the Willow Project domestically, or when your Administration blocked crucial IPCC data from being included in the UNFCCC’s Global Stocktake Synthesis report to prepare Parties for COP28. This data showed that North America’s 4% of the global population is responsible for 24% of global emissions since 1850 while Southern Asia’s 25% of the global population is responsible for only 4% of the global emissions.
Being a climate leader means not just doing something, but doing our country’s fair share of the global effort to keep global temperature limits of 1.5°C in reach. Because the US has contributed so much to the climate crisis historically, it is time for the country to step up to the plate, and hit a home run for climate ambition, finance, and support for other nations. That means the United States must do more than the mere 50% emission cuts by 2030 in your current Paris pledge. It is time to do our fair share.
Doing our fair share means:
Reducing domestic emissions by 70% from 2005 levels by 2030 (13.62 million metric tonnes)
No new fossil fuel infrastructure and a just transition plan for an equitable fossil fuel phase out globally
Increasing climate finance, technology cooperation and capacity building to support greater emission reductions and adaptation in developing countries
Recognizing our historical responsibility and contributing to a Loss and Damage Fund hosted under the UNFCCC.
This is the kind of leadership we are looking for and expect. The first Global Stocktake and COP28 is a critical moment for the world to accelerate action to respond to the climate crisis. Now is your opportunity, but you must act.
Throughout the history of the climate negotiations, the United States has always fought against acknowledging its historical responsibility. Now is the time for this to stop. President Biden, now is the time to recognize the oversized impact of the United States on the climate crisis, to hold ourselves accountable, and to do our fair share. You say everyone should pay their fair share of taxes and workers should get a fair share of profits; so be it with climate action. By not doing so, COP28 could be a bust.
We want true climate leadership. Will you deliver?
Sincerely,
350.org
350 Triangle
Association For Promotion Sustainable Development
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
Berks Gas Truth
Blue Future
Brighter Green
Care About Climate
Cherokee Concerned Citizens
Clean Energy Action
Climate Generation
Colorado Democratic Party – Energy and Environment Initiative
Corporate Europe Observatory
Dogwood Alliance
Earth Action, Inc.
EcoEquity
Elders Climate Action
Empower Our Future
Faith In Place
Fridays For Future Evansville
Fridays for Future USA
Fund for Democratic Communities
Fundacion Etnica Integral
Gas Free Seneca
Georgia Interfaith Power & Light
GreenFaith
Justice Is Global
Kingdom Living Temple
Michigan Interfaith Power & Light
Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light
Mississippi Rising Coalition
National Campaign for Sustainable Development Nepal
National Campaign for Sustainable Development Nepal
New Alpha CDC
New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light
North Carolina Council of Churches
North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light
Oil Change International
Oxfam America
Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light
Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania
Selkirk Conservation Alliance
Share The World’s Resources
Sisters of Saint Francis, Rochester Minnesota
The Oakland Institute
The People’s Justice Council
Unite North Metro Denver
US Climate Action Network
Virginia Interfaith Power & Light
The Whitney M. Slater Foundation
Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)